Fabienne & Patrick

If you know me, you know that mountain weddings secretly have my heart. So when Fabienne and Patrick first contaced me and told me they’d be getting married in a tiny chapel they had found while hiking the Swiss Alps, I was already over the moon and couldn’t wait for the day to come. When it did, the weather forecast wasn’t looking too great, unfortunately. We had had an incredible summer so far, it hardly ever rained so obviously we were all hoping for mild weather up in the alps. We didn’t get lucky in that way, but in the end everything turned out perfectly. Or, as the bride put it:

I don’t think I would have laughed this much had it been sunny.

— Fabienne, the bride

That’s one thing that made this wedding so special: The absolute happiness of everyone involved. There was so much laughter, love and happiness around that it was easy to get lost in the emotion and forget all about the weather. I have so much to tell about this wedding but don’t even know where to start. For one, Fabienne and Patrick decorated the chalet they had booked for the reception with the loveliest details. They scouted for old books, vases and crafted lots of the things themselves. They organized old suitcases to showcase their love of travel and even moved their personal sofa up to the mountains to use it as a backdrop for the photobooth. Everything just fit perfectly into the mountain-surroundings and emphasised the cozy atmosphere of their wedding.

I arrived a little bit before the ceremony to photography the last preparations of the bride before moving over to the chapel for the ceremony. And guys, let me tell you, the mountain chapels are truly wonderful, but oh-so-tiny. They were built to accomodate the people of the town they were in and maybe a few outsiders, too, but usually that means not a lot of space. It wasn’t the smallest chapel I’ve had to photograph in (that was this one), but boy, did I struggle to stay out of the way and not pull too much attention onto myself. Which was pretty much impossible. During ceremonies, I like to keep in the background and let all the focus be on the couple and the celebrant, which is how it should be. But when the only place you can stand in is literally next to the priest, there’s no way to be the unseen photographer. If I had a behind-the-scenes-picture, I’d show it to you. Thankfully, the priest was wonderful about it and I got to capture the ceremony with all it’s beautiful emotions. And I even snuck out of hiding behind a table once to snap a few images from behind the couple. Stealth 50/100, I guess. But it was worth it. My favorite part of the wedding ceremony - except for the second priest constantly mispronouncing Fabienne’s name in a way that made it a male name and the smirks this got from all the guests and the bridal couple - was a song Fabienne and Patrick chose. It had the guests singing only certain parts depending on their gender and standing up while they were singing, while the other gender had to sit down. That really loosened up everyone and made sure they kept warm. I mean having about 50 people constantly moving up and down definitely makes for some fun and relaxed moments. As I said: It was a truly happy wedding.

And it continued on like this: Flower-children who enjoyed throwing confetti, the couple’s surprise at seeing their gift of a home-brewed beer complete with a self-designed wedding-label, nasty-drink-tasting organized by some friends because it used to be a tradition back in the day, pacifier-turning-games, and so much more. Oh, and obviously one of the highlights was also the matching polka-dot-rubber-boots the two had gotten spontaneously (Patrick: “I had to get them from the women’s section because there weren’t any others left”) and which made for great pictures during bridals. Our couple’s shoot was extremely relaxed despite the cold drizzle and while jumping over puddles and scrambling under fences both of them seemed to be really enjoying themselves. And that’s how a wedding should be, after all. Full of laughter and memorable moments for the future. I drove home with the broadest smile that day. Fabienne and Patrick, thank you for having me!